The world is getting more and more connected everyday: our phones can connect to our computers, which connect to our thermostats, which connect to our credit scores, which connect to our automobiles, and which connect to our Facebook News Feeds. This interweaving network of different technologies might make our lives easier, but it also profoundly changes what we think of when we talk about “society”. In exploring these changes, this course will look to the origins of surveillance, the innovations of digital surveillance, and ultimately the challenges that surveillance poses to society, democracy, and freedom. Key themes include digital technology, surveillance, dataveillance, identity, race, class, gender, citizenship, Google, and the NSA.

Syllabi are available to current LSA students. IMPORTANT: These syllabi are provided to give students a general idea about the courses, as offered by LSA departments and programs in prior academic terms. The syllabi do not necessarily reflect the assignments, sequence of course materials, and/or course expectations that the faculty and departments/programs have for these same courses in the current and/or future terms.